When thinking about college,
scholarships are usually in the equation for any prospective student.
They are large or small sums of money

presented to either a student or a
university that does not need to be repaid. Scholarships are
usually required to be applied for and sometimes have restrictions or
guidelines for applicants. They are given by groups, clubs, businesses,
charities, schools, the government, or other organizations and can be a
huge crutch for families flipping most of the educational bill.

Who is able to receive
scholarships?

Every scholarship is different
than another and each has its own guidelines for applicants to adhere
to, such as athletic scholarships, which are directed toward a specific
sport, academic scholarships, which are awarded to students with certain
academic standings in school, or scholarships in specific academic
fields such as science or theatre.

Many students who do not have
great academic standing become discouraged when considering scholarships
because they believe that scholarships are solely for those with
straight As or perfect standing, but this is not true. They are
awarded based on certain qualifications and many scholarships do not
even focus on grades. Some organizations give money to students
who live in a particular city or state or who give time to a particular
philanthropy. There are also different kinds of scholarships given
to college graduates or PhD students, so students of all sorts are able
to receive help from scholarships.

How do I find scholarship grants
that apply to me as a nursing student?

As a nursing student, there are
four types of aid available to help ease the burden of school expenses,
including student loans, work study programs, grants, and scholarships.
Many nursing students find a way to use all four of these methods to
help pay for their schooling, but scholarships are the best place to
start because they are free from debt.

Nursing scholarships can be
awarded based on the same criteria for regular scholarships. Some
are offered to students studying a certain nursing niche or who live in
a particular area. But in most cases, scholarships will not seek
you out, so the earlier you begin your search the better. The
internet is the best place to start looking as it will provide you with
many different scholarship opportunities.

With so many applicants hunting
the same scholarships, make sure you are prepared to go the distance to
get that money. Here are a few hints to help you along the way:

1)Organization. Stay organized while searching and applying
for scholarships. Keep your applications organized by deadlines
and leave plenty of time to complete them by the time that date arrives.
Using a filing system to keep applications that have been completed and
not completed will help. Be sure to make copies of your
applications before you send them in and having letters of
recommendation and your transcripts on hand at all times can save you
loads of time and money. Keep contact information for each
scholarship and contact the group or club before the deadline to make
sure your papers were received.

2)Adhere to deadlines! Scholarship reviewers will not wait
for your late submission and will toss out all applications that come
after the deadline, and possibly not look at ones that come close to
that. Keeping organized with these can help you get your work in
on time and in order.

3)Donít give up. Money will not arrive at your door by
pigeon three days after youíve submitted your application, and it may
not arrive at all, so donít stop at just one option. Research,
research, research, and donít stop researching until youíve
exhausted all your avenues and applied for all the scholarships you can,
because the more you apply for, the more likely you are to be awarded
one or more.

4)Keep looking up. With all the work you put in, it is hard
to sit and wait for responses or even deal with denial letters from
organizations, but keeping your thoughts positive about your search and
yourself can be the process easier and more beneficial.

5)Jump on it! The number one more important thing a student
can do when it comes to looking scholarships is actually look for
scholarships! Organizations will not seek you out. The best
way to not receive any scholarship money is to not apply for it.
Research scholarships that fit you or that you meet the requirements for
and request an application. Most scholarship applications are
easily printed off the internet or are done entirely by email.
Take the initiative and get cracking!

Joke:
Found an employee in the parking lot, late one night, and when security
took her to the ER, they knew after an exam that she was in fact, a
nurse.... because her stomach was empty, her bladder full, and half of her
ass was chewed off.